Property ownership

The Land Titles and Assets map contains multiple layers. To navigate, click on the triangle symbol and box to open each layer. Use the options on the Layers List to switch on/off the layers for the information you require to see.

The information is split into sections:

• Fife Council Common Good – This shows the extent of land held on Common Good
• Asset Outlines – This shows the location and extent of assets owned or leased by Fife Council, marked by a blue outline. Click on a shape to see additional information for the asset
• Council Assets by Type – This contains the same information as the Assets Outlines layer, but the shapes are coloured based on the type of asset. Expand the layer name to access the legend
• Disposed Titles – This shows land and property that the Council has disposed
• Council Land Titles – This shows the extent of land that Fife Council has titles for

To avoid confusion, do not activate the Asset layers and the Title layers at the same time.

Note: The Title layers are a representation of land and property bought or disposed by Fife Council and predecessor authorities.  

The Title layers do not show sales of Council Houses disposed under the Tenants' Rights, Etc. (Scotland) Act 1980.

• Open the Land Titles and Assets map
• Click the box to accept conditions of use and click OK
• Navigate to the area on the map
• Council land titles are shaded pink
• Common Good titles are crossed hatched green on pink shading
• For a fuller explanation, please see above "How to use the map"

The Asset layers show the location and extent of individual sites and properties recorded within the Council’s asset register. The extent of an asset can be made up from a single title acquisition, multiple title acquisitions or part of a larger title acquisition.

The Council Land Titles layer show the extent of titles acquired by the Council. Several large titles cover a large part of Kirkcaldy and form multiple assets, for example car parks, libraries, community centres. The titles also cover many areas not currently recorded as sites within the asset register, for example roads, small parks and open spaces.

The sale of many houses took place before GIS systems were available. The total number was so high, and the dividing of gardens (for flatted properties) so complex, we were unable to capture it on paper-based maps of the time.

The Council Land Titles layer was produced from the information on the paper-based maps. As a result, the Council Land Titles layer does not show sales of Council houses disposed under the Tenants' Rights, Etc. (Scotland) Act 1980.

You should refer to your title deeds for clarification on the extent of your ownership. If you do not have a copy of your title, check with your solicitor or mortgage company. You can also get a copy from the Registers of Scotland (for a fee). The information shown on the GIS maps is a representation only and should not be used to determine the extent of ownership.

We only have records of what the Council own, and areas sold. We do not hold information on privately owned property. You can try asking local residents or Search the Land and Property Information section of the Registers of Scotland.

We have entered into agreements to maintain many areas throughout Fife that are not owned by the Council.

The Council Land Titles layer only shows areas of land we own, based on available information. Some titles have obscure descriptions, for example some Burgh Charters will describe ownership as ‘all lands within the burgh boundary except the areas already sold’. The area may well be unsold land covered by the Burgh Charter, but we do not show areas where we cannot provide reasonable evidence of ownership.